We are conducting surveys, monitoring, and research on cougars (puma, mountain lion) on the Ladder Ranch in south-central New Mexico. Here, cougars are of particular interest given their effects on state-endangered desert bighorn sheep and other valuable big game. These projects are also resources for training and education, most notably through the Cougar Field Workshop.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Yesterday many of our remote cameras were checked and the results were impressive. Our collared cougar returned to the site of capture at about 22:30 the same day it was collared. He appears to be in good health and we're breathing a sigh of relief. We are not out of the woods yet, however. After taking every precaution for the animals health and welfare, we must still allow a two week window to determine if there have been any adverse health effects of the collaring effort. But, today we are delighted to report: so far so good.